I woke up in a dark bedroom. It took me a few seconds to recognize the master bedroom at Miles’ house. I rubbed the grit out of my eyes and tried to remember how I got here. I remember buckling up, listening to the boys talk about the weekend, and pulling out of the student parking lot. Then nothing. Someone must have carried me into the house and put me in the bedroom. I smiled at that warm feeling in my chest again. It wasn’t so odd this time.

I sat up and checked the clock. It was six o’clock, and I still had homework. I groaned as I got out of bed. When I felt the wood floor under my feet, I jerked. Apparently, someone had taken my shoes off, too. I pulled my jacket off and tucked my cell phone into my back pocket. I opened the door and headed down the hall, still wiping the sleep from my face. I heard voices coming from the kitchen, so I went in. Asher was putting fried rice into a big serving bowl, and Isaac was standing at the breakfast bar with Miles next to him.

“There she is,” Miles greeted me.

I smiled and ran my hand back through my hair.

“What happened?” I asked, still a bit drowsy.

Miles and Isaac smiled.

“We got one block from school, and you were out like a light,” Miles explained, coming around the counter. He headed for the dishes cupboard and opened it.

“Huh.” I walked around the counter and sat down at the breakfast bar. “Who carried me into the house?”

“What makes you think you were carried?” Isaac asked, chuckling. “You were out, gone. We could have dragged you into the house, and you still wouldn’t have woken up.”

Miles brought a stack of plates over the counter and set them down. “Isaac did,” Miles answered over his shoulder as he headed for the silverware drawer.

I looked over to Isaac. He was eyeing the big bowl of fried rice.

“Thanks for bringing me in, Cookie Monster.”

Isaac glanced back at me and winked before grabbing a plate. “No problem Red, you’re light.”

“He didn’t bang my head on anything on the way in, did he?”

Asher laughed.

Miles looked concerned. “Not that I know of, do you have a headache?” Miles asked, adjusting his glasses.

I smiled and shook my head no.

“Good, cause dinner's ready,” Asher announced.

All of us dished up and headed for the dining room. When I walked in, I saw everyone's books out on the table. Shit, I still had that essay due tomorrow.

“Food’s ready,” I told Zeke and Ethan.

They both popped up and headed down the hall. I saw my book bag and brought it to the table. I was still pulling out my books when the guys came back in with their dinner.

“Don’t bother, Red, we did your homework for you,” Isaac announced.

My eyebrows went up.

“Seriously?”

They all nodded.

“You guys are awesome. Thank you so much.” I was about to get up to get my laptop when I noticed it over by Miles. “Miles did you finish my essay?”

His ears tinged pink. “Yes.”

“You’re an angel,” I told him sweetly. He sent a smile down the table.

“So, all I have left tonight is to try and fail at meditating,” I grumbled taking a bite of chicken.

“Actually, I think I’ve got something that will help,” Ethan said. “I’ll show you after dinner.”

“Anything is worth a shot right now,” I mumbled, my mind on the burns on my arm. I was going over possibilities when my phone vibrated in my back pocket. I pulled it out and saw I got a text.

Unknown: Hey, it’s Dylan from last Saturday. What have you been up to?

I bit my lip trying not to smile. Almost a week and he finally texts me. I decided to make him wait a little. I looked down the table to see Asher had finished eating.

“Looks like I can’t guilt you anymore, Asher,” I said. Asher looked across the table at me. “Dylan just texted me.”

Asher scowled. “Oh, come on man,” Asher muttered. He tilted his chin at my phone. “Have you texted him back yet?”

I shook my head, smiling. “I’m making him sweat for a couple minutes,” I admitted.

The other guys groaned. I looked around the table at them with an eyebrow raised.

“I hate that,” Isaac complained.

“That’s cruel, Beautiful,” Ethan chimed in.

“You do know that guy is just sitting there waiting for you to text back, right?” Miles asked, pointing at my phone. I smiled at Miles.

“He got my number Sunday morning, and he waited until Thursday night to text me,” I said being very clear.

“Oooh. Yeah, let him sweat a couple minutes,” Zeke agreed before going back to his Physics homework.

“When you do text him back, tell him I said ‘weak game’.” Asher grinned mischievously.

I sent him one back. After a couple minutes had passed, I picked up my phone.

Alexis: The usual stuff, school, sleep. I’m having dinner with the guys right now. Asher says ‘weak game.’

I giggled as I hit send.

“She’s giggling, that can’t be good,” Isaac said.

“No, I’m giggling at the weak game thing,” I admitted. I put down my phone to take a bite of food. My phone vibrated on the table.

“Yeah, he better text you back,” Asher mumbled.

I snickered as I picked up my phone.

“What, Asher? Not liking the way your friend is texting me?” I taunted him a bit.

Asher gave me a half grin. “When I gave him your number, I told him no stupid dating games.” Asher shrugged as he went back to his work.

I snickered again and checked the text.

Dylan: LOL. I deserved that. I would have texted earlier this week but my Dad got sick, and I had to take more shifts at the store.

By the time I read that, he had sent another text.

Dylan: With homework and everything by the time I’d think of texting you, it was always near midnight. Seemed kind of creepy to text someone for the first time that late.

I smiled at my phone. That I could understand.

Alexis: Yeah, that would have been really creepy. I guess I can’t give you a hard time over it.

Dylan: Thank you merciful one. So, tell me how's your week been?

Oh, you know, almost died. Found out I was a Necromancer. You know, the usual stuff. I lost my smile. How could I tell him the truth? Simple, I couldn’t, so I hedged.

Alexis: A bit hectic, but nothing I can’t handle. Sounds like you had the same.

Dylan: Pretty much, but since I worked all week, I get the next three weekends off. Totally worth it.

Alexis: 48-hour rule?

Dylan: .... so not worth it.

I chuckled as I texted back.

Alexis: Lol, sorry couldn’t resist that one.

I picked up my fork and took a bite of food.

“You’re killing us, Red,” Isaac said with a groan.

I looked up and found Isaac and Ethan watching me.

Asher kept taking quick looks once in a while. “What excuse did he have for not texting?”

I shook my head, smiling at Isaac’s suffering voice.

“He said his dad got sick, and he had to pick up more shifts at the store. He admitted he didn’t want to text me in the middle of the night, he thought it would be creepy.”

My phone vibrated again.

“Yeah, that sounds more like Dylan than just not calling,” Asher admitted going back to his work as the others started to pick up their dishes.

I went back to texting Dylan.

Dylan: No, that was a good one. You make me laugh.

Alexis: I try; you should hear the bad ones. The guys all groan and roll their eyes.

Dylan: Lol.

Dylan: Asher told me you had all guy friends. You don’t see that very often.

I groaned and put my head back on my chair.

“What?” Asher asked.

I looked back to realize that the others were gone.

“He’s subtly asking why I only have guy friends. Do you know how often I get that question? This is the second time today,” I complained.

Asher grinned. “Tell him that.”

“Really?”

Asher nodded. “Yeah, he doesn’t want to irritate you.” Asher started packing up his bags.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, getting up and picking up my dish.

“Family room, are you coming?” Asher stretched.

I nodded.

“Just got to put away my dish, dinner was delicious by the way,” I called over my shoulder as I headed down the long hallway.

“Thank you, Ally.”

I went into the kitchen and put my dish in the sink, and texted Dylan back.

Alexis: You are the second guy to ask me that today. I didn’t think it was that strange.

I headed down the hallway and walked into the family room. Zeke and Isaac had the couch to the left, Ethan and Miles were with their backs to the door. My phone vibrated as I climbed over the back and plopped between the boys. Asher laid out on his back on the floor, groaning. I was looking down at my cell phone when Ethan nudged my shoulder. I smiled and nudged back. The guys talked about the movie while I read Dylan’s text.

Dylan: It’s not strange just different. Don’t you like hanging out with other girls?

I rolled my eyes and turned the tables on him.

Alexis: Do you like hanging out with a bunch of girls?

“Nice one, Beautiful.” Ethan grabbed my attention. I looked up to see him reading over my shoulder.

“Really?” I asked, a bit irked. I elbowed him in the side for spying on me.

My phone vibrated.

“Yeah, you don’t want your phone to end up in the pool,” Miles warned him.

I smirked as the guys chuckled. I read Dylan’s text.

Dylan: Well, no, but I’m a guy.

I snorted.

Alexis: I don’t have a lot of great girls-as-friends experiences. Guys are easy; if they’re mad, you know.

Dylan: But don’t you miss having girls as friends sometimes?

I thought about that for a second before I was texting him back.

Alexis: When I’m not sure if an outfit works or if a color is right for me, otherwise no.

I smirked and added.

Alexis: Besides, guys gossip just as much as girls do. Ethan’s sitting here trying to read over my shoulder.

“Thanks for that, Beautiful,” Ethan grumbled.

“You deserved it.”

“If he wanted to talk to you this long, he should have just called.” Ethan pointed out still looking over my shoulder. “Texts are for short talks or flirts.”

“He’s being a chicken shit,” Zeke announced still watching the movie.

“He waited too long to call, so he’s feeling her out,” Miles chimed in.

The guys agreed. I looked around at them.

“Okay, I know you guys don’t sit around talking about who Ethan is texting,” I pointed out to them.

They all grinned.

“If we did, we’d be stuck talking all day,” Isaac countered.

We burst out laughing. Ethan just grinned. My phone rang.

“That’a boy, have a pair,” Asher said proudly.

I was laughing as I answered. “Hello?”

“Thought calling might make it harder for Ethan to snoop.” Dylan's husky voice filled my ear. Damn it, I had forgotten about his voice.

“I don’t know; he’s practically in my lap now, trying to listen.” I elbowed Ethan in the gut hard. He grunted. “There we go, nothing an elbow to the gut doesn’t fix.”

Dylan chuckled.

I looked around, the movie was paused. The boys were all watching me.

I dropped the phone from my mouth but kept it to my ear. “You guys actually paused the movie to listen in?”

Dylan was laughing now.

I put the phone back to my cheek. “I told you, they’re just as bad as girls.”

The guys laughed at me as I got up and headed around the couch.

“I’m just going to go somewhere with less ears.” I walked into the long hall and down to the living room. I took the couch facing the doorway so the guys couldn’t sneak up on me. “Okay, it’s clear. Hi.”

“Hi, do they do that a lot?”

“What, be nosey?” I couldn’t seem to stop grinning. His voice just rolled through my ears. It was a damn good voice.

“Yeah, do they do that when all the guys call?”

I snorted. “I’ve been here just over a week; you’re the only guy to call. Well, that wasn’t one of them.” I admitted.

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“When did the guys at that school get so stupid? I met you once and asked for your number.” His voice was warm, sending butterflies through my stomach.

“Oh, and you go in for the hard flirt. Interesting choice,” I said, teasing him and totally loving it.

Dylan chuckled in my ear. “Yeah, I kinda have to make up for lost time here,” he admitted. “I only got one dance with you before all that went down.”

“Yeah, but it was a damn good dance.” I flirted back. I felt a little rusty.

“Well, it was a memorable night after all.”

I chuckled quietly.

“And then Zeke beat that guy into the ground,” Dylan continued.

I shifted, crossing my legs under me. “Yeah, but I can’t really blame him.” And I kind of didn’t want Dylan blaming him either.

“Asher told me the guy had it coming but didn’t go into detail. Will you tell me?”

I sighed and explained all at once. I didn’t want to keep talking about it. “Basically, a guy groped me and tried to pin my back against the bar, so I pushed him off me. He got pissed and pushed me back. My back hit the bar, I hit the floor. Then Zeke hit him, a lot.” I waited, heart pounding, wondering if he was going to get scared off by Zeke.

He was quiet for a couple beats.

“He hurt you?” Dylan’s voice changed turning harder. It sent the butterflies fluttering again.

“It only hurt for a few minutes. The air was knocked out of me, and since my spine hit the bar, my hands shook for a while.” I gave him a half lie. There was no way I was telling him about my bruises.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I felt like I needed to explain Zeke’s reaction. “Zeke just really hates guys who hurt girls.”

“Remind me to thank him next time I see you.” His voice was back to his normal husky.

I smiled a big girly smile.

“You’re going to see me again, huh?”

I heard him let out a breath before answering. “Well, it’s going to be hard dating you if I don’t get to see you again.” His voice was full of confidence that I’m pretty sure was fake.

“You don’t know me well enough to want to date me; I could be some crazy girl.” I pointed out still smiling.

He chuckled. “Well, I’m trying to get to know you, but I’m running behind here. Especially if I want to see you this weekend.”

My stomach did that hard flip. I winced.

“This weekend?” I asked, my voice pained. I rested my head back on the sofa.

“I take it you can’t this weekend?” His voice was full of disappointment, he wasn’t the only one.

“If I really make some progress on this project, and work at it all day Saturday, then I should be able to swing Saturday night for a few hours.” If I can connect to the Veil by then, I could take care of Bitch Ghost on Sunday or later Saturday night--if I could figure it out. Then I got an idea. “Wait, I am going to Asher’s football game with everyone tomorrow night. Can you come to that?”

He sighed deeply. “I’m playing out at Northridge tomorrow night.”

“Okay, schedules suck,” I declared.

He chuckled. “Yeah, they do. Especially with you almost an hour away.” He laughed.

“Only from your point of view; to me you're the one an hour away,” I told him.

“Wait, what’s in the middle?” I heard him moving around. “Come on, wake up computer.”

I smiled. “It’s only forty-five minutes,” I pointed out.

I heard typing.

“Yeah, but if there is something in the middle, that’s less time driving and more time I get to see you,” he said distractedly.

I couldn’t seem to stop smiling.

“Hmm, and less gas used. I like it,” I admitted.

He laughed. “A girl who knows the value of gas, be still my heart.” His voice was adoring. “Okay, something in between. I’ve found a park.”

I started laughing.

“If I told the guys I was meeting you in a park at night, they would all come and glare at you the whole time,” I told him.

He laughed again. “I was thinking more during the day next weekend or something,” he said. “There’s a really small town. I’ll look up what’s there later; I’d rather talk to you right now.”

“You are really working the hard flirt,” I said fighting the urge to giggle. What was wrong with me? I have never giggled because of a guy.

“Yeah, I am. Is it working?” he asked. His voice had an edge of uncertainty. He was so cute.

“Oh, yeah, it’s working,” I admitted happily. I heard a deep exhale of relief.

“Good.”

I snickered.

“Think you can make it out to Vegabond Saturday night?” he asked me.

I bit my lip.

“If I make progress on that project, then it’s a definite yes.” I hedged; I didn’t want to say yes and have to back out.

“But if you don’t?”

“I’ll be busting my ass every night to make sure that doesn’t happen,” I admitted. I decided then and there that I was going to reach my center on Saturday, no matter how long it took.

“Alright.” His voice got softer in my ear. “So, what did you draw today?”

“I was practicing roses today.”

Before I could say more, Ethan walked into the living room carrying his iPod and headphones.

“Hey Beautiful, you’ve got that thing you're working on,” he called from across the room.

“Did he just call you beautiful?”

I winced.

“Yeah, it’s his nickname for me. So far, I haven’t picked his, but Nosey Brat is starting to sound good.”

Dylan and Ethan laughed at me.

“I do have to get working, though,” I said “if you want to see me Saturday night and all.”

“Get moving, I want another dance,” Dylan ordered making me chuckle. “I’ll try to call tomorrow, but you’ll definitely get texts.”

“Uh-huh, now tomorrow or a week from tomorrow?” I teased.

He groaned.

I snickered.

“I’ll make it up to you I promise.”

“Alright. Night,” I said, still smiling.

“Night.”

I hung up the phone and glared playfully at Ethan who had a big shit-eating grin on his face.

“Lexie’s got a boyfriend,” he sang.

“Lexie’s got a date Saturday night,” I sing-songed right back.

“Oh. Nice, where?”

“Vegabond.”

He tilted his head, his eyes unfocused. “Now I need a date.” He shook his head and focused back on me. “Come on Beautiful, let’s go.”

I followed Ethan down the long hallway and into the conservatory. He led me to the center of the glass room and gestured for me to pick a seat. I sat down in one of the chairs. Ethan brought the other chair closer, the metal feet scraping along the stone tile. He sat in front of me like last night.

“So, what is involved in linking with the Veil?” he asked, playing with the cord on his headphones.

“Well, first you have to meditate, get a clear head. Free of emotion and conscious thought. Then you have to find your center,” I explained, still trying to understand it myself. “Your center is supposed to be this place inside you, the you that is at the very core of who you are. The good, the bad. It’s all there. You have to face that to reach out and link with the Veil.”

Ethan licked his lips. “Well, let’s start with part one,” he offered.

I smiled gratefully. He handed me his iPod and headphones.

“I’ve downloaded a pretty good guided meditation for you. It should be able to help get you there.”

I nodded and put the headphones on.

“Are you staying?” I asked, settling into the chair. He nodded. I hit play on the file marked “Lexie’s”. I placed my hands on my lap and closed my eyes. The music was soft, a flute, and tranquil. Then the guide started to speak. I winced; his voice was hard on my ears. It was a higher pitched man's voice, and it had a slight accent that I ended up trying to place rather than listening to the actual guide. I brought my attention back to what I was supposed to be doing.

Ten minutes later, I couldn’t take it anymore. I pulled the headphones off.

“Nope, nada, no way,” I said in a strained, frustrated voice. Ethan frowned at me.

“What happened?”

“The guy has a slight accent I’ve been trying to place for a good five minutes and his voice is higher pitched. It’s like a knife in my ear,” I told him honestly. I hated how picky I was about sound. But this wasn’t working. What the hell was I going to do?

Ethan’s face became thoughtful. He was silent for a couple minutes before he grinned at me. He reached over and took the headphones from me.

“Alright, I have an idea.” He put the headphones on but left one off his ear. He queued up the iPod. Then he met my eyes. “Close your eyes.”

I raised an eyebrow at him and sighed. I was willing to try anything right now. I closed my eyes.

“Take deep, slow breaths.”

Ethan’s voice went low and smoother than usual. It wasn’t his toe-curling voice or his normal one, it was somewhere in between. His voice filled my ears slowly, softly till his voice was all I could hear.

“Focus on feeling your body breathing, the air coming in through your nose. Your lungs filling with air. Feel yourself exhale.”

I did as he said; I couldn’t resist that voice of his. It went on like that for half an hour. Ethan saying the instructions, following and me listening. The world disappeared. There was only the sound of water and Ethan's voice. When my mind was completely blank, free of emotion and thought. I gave him a thumbs up, letting him know I was where I needed to be. Then Ethan began again, this time giving me instructions on how to reach my center. I don’t know where he found them and I didn’t care. I just listened.

“Feel yourself relaxing, sinking deeper into your mind.”

I relaxed my hold on everything, my body, my stress, all the pressure I felt to get this right. I just let it go and sank down inside myself.

“Where does your instinct come from, Beautiful? That place in your mind that is all instinct. The instinct that you used with Zeke today. That instinct you had when you calmed me down the day before my gig.”

I knew the vague area in my mind where that came from, it was lower, deeper. So, I sank further.

“That’s where your center is. That is what you need to find,” Ethan’s voice told me.

I was closer, I could feel it. I felt stronger, more me. Images flashed through my mind, not all of them good, not all of them bad. The big moments in my life. Seeing my first ghost, Claire saving me, Claire protecting me. Dad. I saw Dad reading me The Hobbit before bedtime. Then I saw his casket. My heart ached as I fell deeper. I knew what was coming. I saw myself being alone at night. Trying to understand why Mom wanted to go out instead of staying with me. I saw how I tried every day to make things better for my mother, how every day she blew me off. I watched the color of my world leach away until there was barely any color at all. I felt my breathing speed up and let it. I knew what was coming. I watched as Jacob Noon tried to pin me down in the park. His hand going up my skirt as I said no. He’d asked me to go stargazing, and I thought it would be fun. I watched as I fought him off, driving my knee into his groin. Then pushing him off me. I watched the white-hot rage in my eyes as I walked to the Blazer. I watched myself pick up the short crowbar. I didn’t hesitate, I didn’t think. Then I watched myself smash that crowbar across his face, over and over. When he was unconscious, I watched myself pull my cell phone out and call the police and an ambulance. My chest felt tight. It was horrifying to see myself that way, to see what I was capable of doing. I didn’t want to see my dark side, I knew it was there, but I didn’t want to see it. I didn’t want to see anymore. I didn’t want to see myself. I didn’t want to know what kind of monster I really was. I began to swim up, and up. Desperate to get away from the knowledge that lay below. I was coming up when a loud bang yanked me out of my head.

I opened my eyes, disoriented, not quite knowing where I was. It took me a couple minutes of blinking and looking around for me to remember I was at Miles house. Asher was walking towards us, grimacing. When he realized we were both watching him, he smiled tensely.

“Sorry, I didn’t know the door opened that easily,” Asher admitted.

I waved a hand dismissively.

“No, it's fine I was trying to come out of it anyway.”

Ethan looked at me curiously.

“Ethan, your mom is on the house phone. She’s pissed you're not answering your cell,” Asher said, handing Ethan the cordless phone. Ethan winced as he took it.

I got to my feet and walked out of the conservatory with Asher.

“So how did it go?” Asher asked as he closed the conservatory door behind us.

“We managed to get through the first step,” I began. As we walked down the long hall, my stomach knotted. “I was almost at the second when I hit a snag.”

“What’s the second step?”

“Finding my center; it’s the root of who you are and everything you will become.” My voice got quiet as I remembered seeing myself in the park. “You see everything you are, those big moments in your life that shaped you. You see it in a way that you didn’t then.” I swallowed hard, my eyes on the carpet runner in the hallway.

“Is that so bad?” he asked gently.

I licked my lips before answering.

“What if who you are, is something far worse than you ever thought you could be?” I bit the corner of my bottom lip looking down the hallway. “What if you are something awful-?”

I never got to finish my sentence. A woman burst through the wall in front of us. I jerked back, falling on my butt, then scooted back a few feet all the while yelling, “Ghost, ghost, fuck a ghost!’

I tried to calm down as she turned and noticed me seeing her. She stepped closer, her color fading in and out. Like a bad signal on an old TV.

“Please, you have to help me! My son!” she begged, her voice frantic. “My son is still in the car!”

I watched, not feeling anything from her. I got to my feet slowly, looking closely at her.

“What do you mean?” I asked, watching her fade in and out again, the color leaching from her, then bouncing back.

Asher grabbed my arm and tried to pull me back down the hall.

“No dead, Ally, not for another couple of days,” he reminded me as he tried to pull me away.

I tugged my arm away from him and looked into that woman’s eyes. I felt nothing. She kept fading in and out. That wasn’t normal. I had a horrible thought. I reached for my bracelets and began pulling them off, one by one.

Asher grabbed my hands, stopping me. “Ally, don’t!”

“I just need a peek; something's not right,” I mumbled before pulling off another bracelet. “She’s fading in and out like a radio signal.”

I continued taking off the bracelets and handing them to Asher. When I finally felt her, it was light, a pressure in my side. Panic in her chest. That wasn’t right. I’d never felt panic from the dead. I pulled another bracelet off. Pain stabbed through my side, my heart stuttered. No, not my heart. Hers. “Holy shit.”

The woman nodded, tears pouring down her face.

My mind went blank, my mouth hanging open like a barn door.

“My car crashed down on the highway, I went off the road. My son is in the car!” she yelled at me, pointing out towards the road.

“Show me.” I was running down the hall, the woman's spirit following right on my heels.

“Ally!” Asher was to my right as I turned into the living room; I grabbed my jacket and yanked out my keys and cell phone.

“Car wreck!” I shouted, running for the front door. I heard other feet behind me. “She’s not fucking dead yet!” I shouted behind me as I yanked the door open and ran for my Blazer. I jumped into the driver's seat. The woman jumped through the wall of the truck and knelt between the front seats. I had just started the truck when the passenger side opened and Asher jumped in. My heart raced as he slammed the door shut and I gunned it. I tossed my phone to Asher. He held on for dear life as I raced down the driveway. “Call Rory!” The front gate opened, and I was through almost scraping paint as we went by.

“Where did you wreck?” I asked her.

“About a mile east, just past the freeway sign. We’re off the road.” Her voice was shaking. She was still fading in and out, so I was guessing her body was still alive.

I repeated to Asher the location as I turned left onto the freeway. Tires squealed as I pushed down the accelerator. Come on, come on, don’t let me be too late. Please, God. For once in my life, don’t let me be too late. It felt like it was taking forever but I later learned it had only taken us five minutes from the front door to the crash site. I saw burned tire marks in the road leading off into the trees.

“Here!”

I hit the brakes. I threw on my hazards and jumped out of the truck. The woman ran in front of me down the side of the road. Heart in my throat, I followed, ignoring the underbrush. The car wasn’t far, just far enough to not be seen from the road at night. The blue sedan was bashed around as if it was made out of play dough.

Adrenaline pumping, I ran to the driver’s side and yanked the door open. She was sitting there, seat belt strapped across her chest, a head wound, and blood pouring out of her side. A sharp piece of blood-soaked metal lay in her open hand. I heard crying.

“Mommy!” A little boy’s voice was crying, big sobbing tears.

Asher reached us.

“You take care of him, I’ve got her,” I told him calmly as I ripped my shirt open, tore it off and started pushing against her side, trying to stop the bleeding.

“Hey, buddy, my name is Asher, and that’s Lexie, we’re here to help,” Asher told the kid in the back seat. I heard him open the door.

“I want Mommy.”

I looked across the car at the woman’s soul and met her eyes.

“Your Mommy’s hurt right now, honey. I’m taking care of her,” I told him in my most soothing voice.

I pressed everything I had against the wound. I wasn’t going to let her go anywhere.

“Is the ambulance on the way?” I asked grunting with effort, hot blood covering my hands. Asher stopped consoling the little boy long enough to answer me.

“Yeah, a couple minutes out.” He went back to talking to the kid. His name was Joshua, but his mom called him Joshy. He liked dinosaurs and the color green. He had a friend named Marty who had a big pool at his house. And he wanted to be a dinosaur finder when he grew up. Asher kept asking him questions, getting him to calm down enough that he wasn’t sobbing hysterically. I noticed the woman's spirit’s color getting stronger. A weight settled in my chest, my stomach knotting.

“Asher get him out of here.” I kept my eyes on her soul.

“I don’t know if I should move him.”

“Can he move his arms and legs?” I asked, getting desperate--I had to talk to the woman, and I couldn't do it in front of the kid.

“I’m not risking it, Ally.” he told me over his shoulder.

Fair enough.

I looked the woman’s soul in the eyes.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” I growled low. “Your son is sitting right behind you. You fucking fight until you have nothing left, fight to get back to him.”

The woman's gaze went to the back seat.

“Yeah it sucks, it hurts, and you're tired. But your son will remember this day for the rest of his life.” I pushed all my weight against the woman’s wound. I felt her blood run down my forearms. “It’s up to you whether or not it has a good ending or a bad one.” I heard sirens coming down the freeway. I refused to look away from her face. “Make the decision now. Is this the day he’s going to hear his mother die in front of him, or is this the day that his mother fought to stay?” I heard tires screeching on the road. Come on woman, make the right fucking choice. Don’t leave your kid here.

The woman's soul met my eyes again, hard determination glowing in her eyes. She looked down at her body and slipped back inside. Relief left me shaking; I focused on keeping the pressure on.

“Down here!” Asher was shouting.

I kept talking to the little boy’s mother.

“You got this, honey, it's going to suck. But it’ll be worth it when you see him grow up and find dinosaur bones.”

I heard feet crashing through the brush. I saw lights shooting through the night, running over the car and us. The first paramedic came to me first; he took a quick look and knelt on the ground next to me.

“Keep the pressure on,” he said in a calm voice as he opened his kit.

“No shit,” I growled, pushing even more of my weight onto the wound. He pulled out a lot of large gauze pads and began covering my shirt with it. I shifted a hand here and there, pushing the pad against the wound as we tried to stop the bleeding. I don’t remember how long it was till the second paramedic came to take my spot. I made him repeat three times that he was pushing on the wound before I let go.

I slipped out from under his arms and stepped away; now that I didn’t have a job to do, I was shaking. I became sharply aware that I was cold, and barefoot. I shivered and looked around me. Another ambulance had arrived; the other paramedics were bringing down a backboard from the road. I spotted Rory coming down the embankment in gray sweatpants and university shirt. The paramedics were talking into the radios on their shoulders as they put a neck brace on the woman. The bleeding stopped soaking through the bandages, and that’s when I knew she was going to be okay. I knew it was okay to let her go now, she wasn’t going anywhere.

I moved towards Rory, trying to get out of the way of the other paramedics coming in. I winced as rocks bit into my feet. Rory met me halfway to the road. His eyes ran over me, his face white.

“What happened?”

I looked up at the road and saw five familiar silhouettes. One was holding a kid on his hip. I wasn’t too surprised to see them. I was oddly calm, my mind quiet. I gestured toward the road.

“How’s the kid?” I asked my voice rough.

“He’s okay, some bumps and bruises but he’ll be fine,” Rory answered stepping to the side and wrapping his hand around my arm.

I looked down and saw blood covering my hands up to the middle of my forearms. Oh, I wouldn’t want to touch me either. I started walking toward the road, Rory helping me around the sharper rocks. Rory ended up climbing up to the road and reaching down to grab my upper arm, he gave me a tug as I pushed to climb up the steep embankment. I stood up straight and walked over to the little boy. He couldn't have been more than four years old. He had chubby cheeks and pretty blue eyes. He clung to Asher as if he was his new favorite toy. I looked up at him and gave him a sweet smile.

“Josh, your mom asked me to tell you something,” I said gently, keeping my voice soft. He looked down at me, his eyes big and scared. “You’re Mommy loves you very much, she’s going to be okay.”

“Lexie, you can’t-” Rory bit out.

“This time I can.” I looked over at him. “This time I know. She’s not leaving him.” I suddenly felt disgusting.

I looked over at the guys. They were all watching me with different levels of curiosity and concern. “Is there any way to get this blood off me?” I asked, my voice rough again.

Rory nodded and brought me to the back of the second ambulance. It was empty; they were bringing the woman up the embankment. It took everyone, even the guys pitched in. Asher kept holding Josh. Rory handed me big antiseptic wipes. I took them and began scrubbing the blood off of me.

“How did you learn about the crash?” Rory asked, his voice quiet. I tossed a now useless wipe into the trash and opened another one.

“Her soul came to me at Miles' house,” I told him honestly, just starting to really think about it. “She kept fading in and out like a radio signal. I took off enough protection to get a bit of what she was feeling.” I shrugged, a bit bewildered myself. “I felt her heartbeat, and I knew she was alive.” I kept wiping my arms, trying to get them clean. “I don’t know how the fuck it happened, but she found me. Ran right through the wall in front of me.” I threw away another wipe and opened another one; I almost had one arm clean. Though I was seriously thinking of wiping down with bleach when we got back to Miles' house.

Rory’s brow drew down. “Has this ever happened before?”

I scoffed, fighting back tears. I swallowed hard and looked around at anything but him. I kept cleaning my arms.

“I see the dead, Rory; by the time they get to me, there is nothing left to save,” I admitted to him and to myself. I was Death’s clean-up crew; I swept up the souls that got left behind or refused to leave. It wasn’t fun, it didn’t feel good, and it wasn’t even something I wanted to do. But it was my reality, my life.

“Not anymore, apparently,” Rory pointed out, he had a small smile on his face.

“Yeah, it was nice to help someone before they died for once,” I admitted. This one felt good, and I really needed that today.

I kept cleaning my arms. When I finally had all the blood off my arms and out from under my nails. Thank you to the paramedics that stayed behind! Asher gave Josh to Rory. He looked at me then at Rory and back again. Apparently, we looked enough alike that he didn’t mind being held by him. Asher drove back to the house. The others following behind us.

I was still thinking about the woman in the car when Asher got my attention.

“Ally, that was pretty amazing,” he said, his voice sounding impressed.

I looked out the side window feeling my face grow warm.

“That’s never happened before,” I admitted, my voice rough. I didn’t know why it kept sounding like that. “I’ve never seen anyone who was alive before, their soul, I mean.”

“Not that, Ally.” Asher’s baritone was earnest as we pulled up to the gate. He leaned out and punched in the combo. The gate started moving. “That woman was slipping away, and you made her stay.”

I kept my gaze out the window. “Her son kept her here, not me.”

“Ally, I heard you,” he told me simply. “She was slipping away, and you reminded her of what she had to live for.”

I swallowed hard around the knot in my throat; I didn’t understand where he was going with this. It put me on edge.

He pulled the Blazer into the driveway and parked. “Remember what we were talking about before the ghost came in?”

“Yeah, I remember,” I mumbled, hoping he’d drop the subject. I didn’t really want to think about my issues with centering. I just wanted to go inside and pass out.

“I don’t think you have to worry about finding out you’re anything bad, Ally.” he said, his voice gentle. “You have too big of a heart for that.”

That feeling of being cared for washed over me again, bringing tears to my eyes. Oh, I really needed to get used to this. I couldn’t keep tearing up every time someone shows that they cared.

My voice was thick when I finally answered him.

“Thanks, Ash.”